News
GENFIT PROGRESSES IN INNOVATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
The company is the coordinator of the AD-INOV program funded by the "Fonds Unique Interministériel"
New patents filed reinforcing the theranostic strategy (BMGFT03 PROGRAM)
Lille (France), Cambridge (Massachusetts, United States), September 10, 2009 – GENFIT (Alternext: ALGFT; ISIN: FR0004163111), a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of drug discovery and development, focusing on the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, today announces it has been selected by FUI (Fonds Unique Interministériel) to receive research funding to lead the AD-Inov collaborative program dedicated to the development of innovative therapies in Alzheimer’s Disease.
A potential breakthrough Therapeutic Strategy
The AD-Inov program coordinated by GENFIT is in collaboration with four other industrial partners (genOway, Vigicell, Drugabilis, and Key-Obs) and an academic institution (ICOA). The consortium will aim to develop better predictive disease models, and drug candidates to modify the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The total budget of the 3-year program is €3.8 million with more than 50% allocated to GENFIT.
To attain the therapeutic objectives, the AD-Inov program will pursue a different target class than those currently under investigation by other groups, and will develop nuclear receptor ligands to treat Alzheimer's disease. Nuclear receptors, which act at the level of regulating gene expression, are still largely unexploited in the field of the neurodegenerative diseases.
As part of the strategy of this program, GENFIT is targeting two nuclear receptors based on their known activity in the CNS and their capacity to target simultaneously several mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s Disease. The other partners of the AD-Inov program will focus on in vitro and in vivo approaches to further confirm target validation and to better predict the therapeutic efficacy of the drug candidates developed under this program.
Jean-François Mouney, Chairman of the Management Board of GENFIT, announced: “The recognition provided by the grant to GENFIT, highlights an important milestone in our drug discovery programs in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. This also confirms our expertise in nuclear receptors which are very interesting targets in Alzheimer’s Disease as they represent a real potential breakthrough with respect to the current therapeutic options limited to only two classes, the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and the NMDA antagonists. Those symptomatic treatments have a therapeutic efficacy limited in time and do not prevent disease progression. Today, we are relatively confident in our capability to provide an alternative therapeutic strategy as we advance a future drug candidate into clinicial development resulting from the research developed with our partners of AD-Inov. The support of nearly one million euros reinforces GENFIT’s capacity to quickly progress in this therapeutic area.”
New Patents Filed
The company also announced the reinforcement of its IP portfolio. Following very convincing results, GENFIT has filed a patent application associated with the BMGFT03 biomarker program developed to diagnose and follow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Unveiled in February 2009, the company’s theranostic strategy aims at the development of new circulating biomarkers to optimize the R&D of drug candidates in the field of cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Dean W. Hum, CSO, added: “Based on a proprietary breakthrough technology, this biomarker approach is developed in parallel with our strategy to intervene at early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and thus to identify biomarkers of disease onset. The very convincing results obtained in our in vivo models will soon be confirmed by proof of concept in humans”.
About GENFIT:
GENFIT is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the Discovery and Development of drug candidates in strategic therapeutic fields linked to cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders (prediabetes/diabetes, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, obesity, Alzheimer’s…). GENFIT uses a multi-pronged approach based on early diagnosis, preventive solutions, and therapeutic treatments to address these major public health concerns and their unmet medical needs. GENFIT’s proprietary research programs and its partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies, including SANOFI-AVENTIS, SOLVAY GROUP, PIERRE FABRE, and SERVIER, have resulted in the creation of a rich and diversified pipeline of drug candidates at different stages of development. GENFIT’s lead proprietary compound, GFT505, is currently in Phase II and two other compounds, in partnership with SANOFI-AVENTIS (AVE0897) and SOLVAY (SLV341), are in the advanced stages of Phase I. With facilities in Lille, France, and Cambridge, MA (USA), the Company has about 130 employees, including over 100 scientists. GENFIT is a public company listed on the Alternext trading market by Euronext™ Paris (Alternext: ALGFT; ISIN: FR0004163111).
Contacts:
GENFIT
Jean-François Mouney – Chairman of the Management Board
+33 (0)3 20 16 40 00
MILESTONES – Press Relations
Bruno Arabian
+33 (0)1 75 44 87 40 / +33 (0)6 87 88 47 26 - milestones@milestones-fr.com
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